Best Looking Girl in Town

Thyra Samter Winslow

From the time she was thirteen Rilla Mabry had been ashamed of her appearance. It was then that she started growing taller than the other girls. She was also awkward as well as tall and she was too thin. By the time she was twenty she was fully convinced that her appearance was really something terrible . ll of the other girls seemed little and cute and attractive. !o matter what Rilla wore it seemed wrong. She was much too tall to wear tailored clothes. nd thin dresses hung around her loosely. ll of the girls and boys in the group liked Rilla. She was a fine girl " if you could forget the way she looked. #ven her hair was wrong$rather stringy$ but she had a pleasant and attractive face. In spite of her looks Rilla had a boy friend. %e was &atrick Redding and his father kept a grocery store. &at wasn't any great price "but then you couldn't e(pect Rilla) with her looks to do any better. &eople feel that Rilla ought to be satisfied. &at was a nice looking boy) and he shouldn't be considered unimportant. Rilla didn't consider &at unimportant. She was grateful to him for being nice to her. She was as pleasant and as friendly as she could be. s a matter of fact she liked &atrick a lot. %e was fun to be with. She would have been perfectly satisfied e(cept for the fact that she was in love with Shane Tennant. ll of which did her little good " for Shane was the price of the town. Shane's father was a banker " and rich.

Kasabadaki En Gzel Kz
Thyra Samter Winslow

n *+ ya,-ndan beri Rilla Mabry g.r*n*,*nden utan-yordu. Bu ya,tan sonra di/er k-0lardan daha u0un olmaya ba,lad-. yn- 0amanda beceriksi0) +ok ince ve olduk+a u0undu. Yirmi yana geldiinde grnnn korkun olduuna tamamen ikna olmutu. Dier kzlarn hepsi ksa, sevimli ve ekiciydi. illa ne giyse, kt grnyordu. !ok uzun olduundan hazr el"iseler tam anlamyla zerinde asl ekilde duruyordu. #ruptaki "tn kzlar ve erkekler illa$y seviyordu. %yi "ir kzd,eer grnne kulak asmazsanz. !ok ince olduu iin sa "ile kt grnyordu, &akat ok ho ve ekici "ir yz vard. #rnne ramen illa$nn "ir erkek arkada vard. ' (atrick edding$ti ve "a"asnn "ir "akkal vard. (at &azla etmezdi, &akat "aklaryla illa$dan da &azla "irey "ekleyemezdiniz. %nsanlar illa$nn tatmin olmas gerektiini dnrlerdi. (at iyi grnl "ir ocuktu ve nemsiz olduu dnlmemeliydi. Rilla &at'in .nemsi0 oldu/unu d*,*nm*yordu. 1endisine iyi davrand-/- i+in o da ona kar,- sayg-l-yd-. #linden geldi/ince ona ho, ve arkada,+a davran-yordu. sl-nda &at'i +ok seviyordu. 2nunla birlikte olmak e/lenceliydi. Shane Tannent'a a,-k olmasayd- +ok memnun olabilirdi. Bunun faydas- yoktu 0ira Shane kasaban-n g.0desiydi. Shane'in babas- bankac-yd- ve 0engindi.

%is mother was the social leader of the town. Shane was well much taller than Rilla$ and handsome besides. &at went into the grocery business with her father. Shane went into the bank. That's the way sons do in small towns unless they have definite ideals about law or one of the other professions. Rilla didn't do anything. %er parents have 3ust enough money so she didn't have to work. She went to parties with &atrick$ and admired for Shane from a distance. The towns people felt that she would marry with &at) that he'd take over his father's grocery store) and that they'd settle down. That might have happened if it hadn't been for 4eslie 5urant. 4eslie 5urant was $ and still is$a well known maga0ine illustrator. nd he came to Morrisville to visit an aunt. nd he was taken an anywhere to all of the parties ) of course. %e was the social lion of the season. %e stayed in town only for few days " but that was long enough for a lot to happen. %e saw Rilla Mabry. Rilla was standing near the door and she was looking at Shane Tennant. She never knew her face how much showed what she was thinking about. !o one else noticed$ but 5urant being knew) understood the situation. %e saw Rilla standing not 6uite straight because she didn't feel 6uite as tall that way) in a badly fitted dress and her hair not 6uite smooth$ and he saw Shane) perfectly dressed) self confident) good looking. nd then &at came to ask Rilla for the dance.

)nnesi kasa"ann sosyal lideriydi. *una ilaveten +hane illa$dan daha uzun ve stelik yakklyd da. (at "a"asyla "era"er "akkal iine girdi. +hane "ankaya girdi. ,er -ukuk veya dier meslekler hakknda idealleri yoksa erkek ocuklarn kasa"ada "a vurduu yol "uydu. illa "irey yapmad. 'nun anne ve "a"asnn yeterince paras vard ve o almak zorunda deildi. (atrick$le "era"er partilere gitti ve +hane$e uzaktan hayranlk duydu. .asa"a halk onun (at ile evleneceini, "a"asnn "akkaln devralacan ve kasa"aya yerleeceklerini zannediyordu. ,er /eslie Durant olmasayd "u "eklentiler gereklee"ilirdi. /eslie Durant gemite ve halen tannm "irgazete ressamyd. -alasn ziyaret iin 0orisville$ye geldi ve ta"iki partilerin olduu her yere gtrld. +ezonun en sosyal insanyd. .asa"ada yalnzca "ir ka gn kalmasna ramen "u sre "irok eyin gereklemesi iin yeterliydi illa 0a"ry$i grd. illa kapnn yannda duruyor ve +hane 1ennant$a "akyordu. 2e dndn yznn ne kadar gsterdiini hi"ir zaman "ilmiyordu. Daha nce hikimse "unu &arketmemiti, ama yeni olduu iin Durant durumu anlamt. 3zerinde kt duran "ir el"ise ve dzgn olmayan salaryla uzun grnmemek iin eik duran illa$y grd. +onra +hane$igrd, mkemmel giyinmi, kendine gvenir ve yakkl. 4e sonra (at illa$ya dans tekli& etmek iin yanna geldi. 2n the second day of his visit 5urant made his remarkable statement. %e told anyone who would listen

to him that Rilla Mabry was by far the best looking girl in town. 2ne of the best looking girl he'd ever seen. Rilla never had a compliment about her looks before. She had always been shy) self conscious) and often unhappy about her appearance. nd now the first authority in beauty who had ever been in town claimed that she was the price. When 5urant) himself told her what he thought of her she was filled with confusion. She managed finally to thank him. nd later) very shyly ) she went up to him. 7I do wish that you would tell me how can look better)7 she said. 7That's not really my particular kind of work) 7 he told her) 7 but may be if we get together 8..9 They got together the ne(t morning. 5urant came to Rilla's house. nd with Rilla's mother acting as helper) they did things to Rilla and to Rilla's clothes. 5urant made her stand up straight . and he rearranged her hair. nd he told her what was wrong with the clothes she wore. That night there was a dance for 5urant$ his last evening in town. nd) as he had thought when he started things) Rilla was) for the first time in her life) the center of attention. Toward the end of the evening 5urant had the satisfaction of seeing Shane Tennant dancing very attentively with Rilla) Shane Tenant whom Rilla had looked at with longing eyes " and who had paid any attention to her. 5iyaretinin ikinci gnnde Durant dikkat ekici szlerini syledi. 'nu dinleyen herkese illa$nn kasa"ada

grd en gzel kz olduunu syledi. -ayatnda grd en gzel kzlardan "iri diye syledi. illa daha nce "aklar hakknda hi ilti&at almamt. -er zaman utanga, kendi halinde ve genellikle grnnden mutsuzdu. 4e imdi gzellik konusunda ilk otorite olan ve kasa"aya ilk de&a gelen "irisi onun kasa"ann gzdesi olduunu sylyordu. Durant onun hakknda ne dndn anlattnda ka&as kart. +onunda teekkr etmeyi "aara"ildi. 4e daha sonra utanga "ir ekilde ona gitti. 6*ana nasl daha gzel grne"ileceimi anlata"ileceinizi umuyorum7 dedi. 6*u gerekten "enim uzmanlk alanm deil7 dedi ona 6 8akat "elki "era"er ola"ilirsek97 ,rtesi sa"ah "ulutular. Durant illa$n evine geldi. illa$nn annesinin yardm ile illa ve el"iseleri zerinde dzeltmeler yaptlar. Durant ona dik durmasn gsterdi. 4e salarn tekrar dzenledi. 4e giydii el"iselerde neyin hatal olduunu anlatt. ' gece Durrant iin dans vard..asa"adaki son gecesiydi. 4e Durant dndklerini yapmaya "alarken illa hayatnda ilk de&a ilgi odayd. #ecenin sonlarna doru Durant, illa$nn zlemle "akt ve ona dikkat "ile etmeyen +hane 1annent$n illa ile nazike dans ediini grmenin mutluluunu yayordu.

5urant went back to his home and his work in !ew :ork and forgot about the whole thing. :ears passed. nd then) 3ust the other day) this happened; 5urant was lunching alone at a restaurant when an attractive) tall woman) past her first youth) came up to him. 7 :ou don't remember me <9 she said. 5urant didn't remember her. 7 I am Rilla tenant " I was Rilla Mabry when you knew me. :ou came to my home town and " and rather made my life over. Remember now <9 72f course I do 7 said 5urant. 7 I remember very well. It was my one attempt at changing the destiny of another person. 7 7:ou did a wonderful 3ob.7 said Rilla. There was a strange note in her voice which he didn't understand. 7:ou married the boy you were in love with. I see. %is name was Tannent wasn't it <9 7Why) yes9 said Rilla. 7 But how did you remember the name < nd how did you know I was in love with him<9 7I am good at remembering names. nd I saw you looking at him. Simplicity itself= nd to think that I was the cause= 7:es you were9 said Rilla.7 It was very funny when you look back on it. There I was going with &atrick Redding) and in love with Shane) and terribly unhappy and awkward. nd you came down and said I was a beauty$ so automatically I became a beauty. nd the boys all wanted to go out with me. nd I married Shane.9

Durant 2e:york$a evine ve iine geri dnd ve hereyi unuttu. Yllar geti. 4e evvelsign "u gerekleti; Durant "ir restoranda tek "ana le yemei yerken uzun "oylu, ekici ve orta yal "ir hanm ona doru gelip durdu. 6*eni hatrlamyorsun deil mi<7dedi. Durant onu hatrlamamt. 6*en rilla 1annent. +iz "eni tandnz zaman "en illa 0a"ry idim. +en "enim kasa"ama geldin ve hayatm deitirdin. =imdi hatrladn m< 6 6,l"ette hatrladm.7 dedi Durant. 6!ok iyi hatrlyorum .*u "aka "irinin hayatn deitirmek iin gsterdiim "ir a"ayd.7 6!ok iyi "ir i yaptn7dedi illa. +esinde onun hi anlamad "ir ton vard. 6)nladm, ak olduun ocukla evlendin. )d 1ennant$t deil mi< 6 6 ,vet 6 dedi illa 68akat onun adn nasl hatrlyorsunuz< 4e "enim ona ak olduumu nasl anladnz< 6%simleri hatrlamakta ok iyiyimdir. 4e seni ona "akarken grdm. !ok kolayd. *enim se"ep olduumu niye dndn< 6,vet sendin 6 dedi illa. 6 1ekrar ana dnp "aktnda ok komikti. *en orada (at edding ile kyordum ama +hane 1ennant$a aktm ve ok mutsuzdum. +onra sen geldin ve "ana gzelsin dedin ve "en gzel oldum. 4e "tn erkekler "enimle kmak istedi. 4e "en +hane ile evlendim.

7Wonderful 7 said 5urant. nd he smiled happily. 7 %ow are you getting along ) now < 7 7That is the difficult part. 7 said Rilla. 7 :ou shouldn't have asked. 7 7Shane and I got married. nd it didn't get along very well though I was awfully happy in the beginning. The Tennant lost all of their money in a bank failure$ and my family had its money in the Tennant bank by that time) so our money went) too. Then Shane fell in love with a chorus girl. I got a divorce of course. I've been teaching in a girls' school for the past three years. 7 7 That's too bad=9 said 5urant. 7 But maybe that was better than marrying that other boy whom you didn't love.9 6 0ay "e,7 said illa. 6You can never tell. /ove goes 9 (atrick edding took his &ather$s grocery store and married the cutest girl in to:n. 1hey have three children and are very happy. )nd, oh , yes he "ecame >uite am"itious and started a chain o& grocery store. 2o: he is the richest and most important man in to:n7

6!ok gzel 6dedi Durant ve mutlu ekilde glmsedi. 6Ya imdi ne yapyorsun<7 6*u zor tara& 6 dedi illa. 6+ormamalydn. 6+hane ve "en evlendik &akat &azla uzun srmedi, ilk zamanlar ok mutluydum. *ir "ankann "atmas ile 1ennantlar "tn paralarn kay"ettiler. 4e "enim ailemde o zamanlar parasn 1ennant *ankas$nda saklyordu, ve "izim paramzda utu. +onra +hane "ir koro kzna ak oldu. *oandm, el"ette. +on yldr kzlar okulunda retmenlik yapyorum. 6*u ok kt7 dedi Durant. 68akat "elkide "u sevmediin dier ocukla evlenmekten daha iyidir.7 6 *elki7 dedi illa. 6-i "ir zaman anlatamassn. )k geici9 (atrick edding "a"asnn "akkaln ald ve kasa"ann en irin kzyla evlendi. 3 ocuklar var ve ok mutlular. !ok hrsland ve "ir "akkallar zincirine sahip oldu. =imdi kasa"ann en zengin ve saygn adam. 7